Miesha Tate Talks Ronda Rousey Rivalry, Improving Since Initial Encounter, and Much More

Tate refuses to let her run-ins with Rousey define her career:

“My career is not going to be determined off this one fight or this rivalry. I’m not trying to put the weight of the world on my shoulders. I believe I’ve done enough thus far in my career to solidify a spot in the UFC, where my value as a competitor isn’t determined by this rivalry. I fully intend to go in there and take that belt on December 28 and go into 2014 as the champion. But, at the same time, I love this sport no matter what.” (PHOTO CREDIT: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports)

How was she able to maintain civility after Rousey’s constant attempts to bait her into reacting emotionally?

“My goal going into this season of The Ultimate Fighter and this fight was to realize the truth that Ronda Rousey does not dictate Miesha Tate. Yes, I lost a fight to her once, but I think I grew a lot as both a fighter and a person. I just decided I was going to have fun with it and let go of the feelings of bitterness and anger I had towards her. I was going to be me no matter what. I learned a hard lesson that when emotions get involved and there is so much negativity, it just wasn’t helpful for me. It’s not the way I compete at my best so I had to learn to put those emotions aside. That’s why I attempted to shake her hand after each fight. That’s why I kept my cool.” (PHOTO CREDIT: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)

How relieved is she for the world to have finally seen Rousey’s true colors?

“I think people have finally gotten to see both sides of the story now, and have been able to see both of our personalities. I think people have had kind of a rude awakening as far as she goes. For the longest time I thought people didn’t understand the reason it was damn near impossible for me to get along with Ronda. She has even admitted it herself that she is the one who started it. I didn’t have a problem with her. When I first saw her fight I thought this chick looks pretty legit. But it was the way she called me out and the way she was so disrespectful before I had even met her that really turned me off to her.” (PHOTO CREDIT: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Tate has some harsh words for Rousey:

“(The experience on TUF 18) made me a stronger person the same way being the bigger person when she flips me off makes me. I think that’s the harder choice because it’s easy to lash out, but it’s harder to keep your cool and take the high road. People think that’s me being fake, but I’m not going to give her the satisfaction of pissing me off. She doesn’t get to do that. She doesn’t get to make me angry. Yeah, she’s Ronda and she is going to do whatever she wants, but she doesn’t get to dictate how I feel. She says she’s being “real” but in my opinion she’s a real bitch. That’s what I think. She uses this being real thing as an excuse to stomp her feet and act like a brat. If people think that is being real then I would rather be fake. She tried all her antics on me during the show and it made her angry that she doesn’t have that emotional control on me like she did before.” (PHOTO CREDIT: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Tate sees a difference between herself now and last year when she first fought Rousey:

“This is something I didn’t even think would be a possibility for years. The fact that it’s made its way around to me so quickly in a sense, I’m so thrilled and excited to have an opportunity like this. It’s amazing to be fighting in the UFC, but more than that, to be fighting for the world title on Pay-Per-View is such an amazing opportunity. It doesn’t get any bigger or better than this. I cannot wait to show the world the new and improved Miesha Tate. I feel like I’ve grown tremendously and I’m excited to go out there and have a shot at the title. I’m excited to have another shot at Ronda Rousey and I’m excited to be the first person to beat her. I’m excited to shock the world because I think people think she’s invincible. But I’m not buying it. I see the holes in her game and I think people are going to be shocked when I’m able to go out there and do what I plan to do. It’s going to be very rewarding and I’m looking forward to it.” (PHOTO CREDIT: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)

UFC bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey was a fan-favorite entering the Ultimate Fighter 18. However, opinions on Rousey have since been soured based on her behavior during the show where she was overly emotional at times and lacked a lot of sportsmanship in regards to rival Miesha Tate. Tate recently spoke to UFC.com about how things unfolded on TUF 18, the reason she was so determined to maintain professionalism rather than let her personal feelings take over, and why she expects a different result in their rematch at UFC 168.